Keitaro: The Divine Crusader
by Kaos and Magnus
Summary: Magnus Fic. Due to an accident with one of Su's experiments, Keitaro is sent into Tamriel, where he will be part of an ancient prophecy, where he will learn his rightful place in the Universe. Behold the Immortal of the Light.
1. Out of the Picture

**Magnus:** Here is an interesting crossover I had to write, I thought that Keitaro was bound to be more important to the universe that only being Naru's punching bag, and Motoko's training Dummy, so, I sent him to a place where his Immortality will be tested and put to a good use. A piece of warning too, there will be some bashing on the Hinata's girls, not too much, but there will be, that said, enjoy, and remember, Read and Review!

**Disclaimer:** We don't own The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion or Love Hina, as well as anything you believe is being mentioned in this fanfic.

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Keitaro: The Divine Crusader**

**Chapter 1**

**Out of the Picture**

Keitaro was tired. After two years of working his ass off, of trying to stand as worthy, of being the most attentive (even if often clumsy), this is what he had gained, being ignored. His leg was till sore (although after being crushed by an entire building that would be counted as miraculous), and his heart felt like a broken vase. In all the inn, his depression was felt like a suffocating fog, result of confessing his feelings to Naru, just for the violent girl to simply turn around and walk away, not even a Naru-Punch, not even a verbal rejection, as if he was not worth the time... And to make it worse, it was not a secret

"Hey, suga, why are ya still brooding? There are more fishes in the pond, ya know?", Kitsune's wise drunken words made Keitaro to come out of his stupor, he had been sitting on the steps outside the inn for a while, just like everyday. And just like every day, Kitsune had to see him in that depressing state, today it had been too much, she wanted her clumsy manager, she wanted to tease him again, and maybe this time getting him to take advantage of the situation for once

"It's the same, all the fishes will bite me, and if I manage to catch one, the others will swarm me to let the fish go", Keitaro replied, trying to return to his brooding

"Maybe this time they won't bite, maybe this time they let you catch them, you won't know until you try, sempai", Shinobu said, coming from behind Kitsune, from day zero she tried to take him for herself, to save him from the depression, and the evil clutches of the rest of the tenants

"Still, they will swarm me, more if I try to get one of the smaller fishes", Keitaro replied, smiling so slightly, to a deeply blushing Shinobu. The cook didn't wailed, the way he accepted the possibility, raised her hopes just so much... perhaps if she poison the dinner...

"Are we going fishing?, I like fish, but I want a turtle, when are we going?", Su suddenly said, coming out of nowhere, and making Keitaro laugh with her seemingly innocent comment

"If the fishes of your pond are so aggressive, try to take the strongest, so the others will not attack you out of fear", Mutsumi said, coming from inside the inn

"The strongest? But I already...", Keitaro stopped himself in mid sentence, he was about to name Naru, when he remembered something, Naru was NOT the strongest, just the most violent, there was someone stronger, someone he had come to like too

"Thank you, Mutsumi, that really helped me, now I can go fishing, although this fish can actually kill me, but it's better than nothing", Keitaro said, and then went to the inn, much to the puzzlement of the rest of the girl

"I didn't know that there was a fish so dangerous in the pond of the inn... do we have a pond in the inn?", Mutsumi suddenly asked, and everyone decided to ignore her

"I'll go for the first aid kit", Shinobu said, sadness in her voice, although there was some relief too, her sempai was coming to his senses again

"That idiot... going after Motoko... he has a death wish...", Kitsune saddly said, she was hoping that he would look after her for an easy way to forget about Naru, not going to hunt lions

"Actually, that's pretty smart, Motoko will not hurt him, not now that she knows the truth behind his shattered heart. Even if she rejects him, he will receive a morale boost that will help him to overcome his previous rejection, and maybe he will take one or more of us for his happiness", Su explained, her voice sounded so mature and full of wisdom

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?", Kitsune shouted in disbelief

"I WANT A BANANA!", Su shouted randomly, making Kitsune face fault

Hinata-sou roof, a moment later...

Motoko Aoyama, heiress of the Shinmeiryu school, swordsmistress, and perhaps the most feared female of the prefecture, was shocked. In front of her, was a man that she previously considered a spineless coward, a scumbag, a pathetic excuse of a male, a man that she later considered as a meek boy, an over-clumsy guy that was actually more scared of hurt the feelings of his tenants than of his own well being, a man that she now had come to respect as her landlord, one that never would take advantage of her or any other female, a man that has just shown enough courage to put to shame most men in Japan

"W-What did you say?", Motoko asked, still unable to believe the situation, she could have used one of her attacks to send him flying as an answer to his daring words, but his smile, that sincere smile, a smile that she had been aching to see for way too long, was more disarming than having her arms and legs broken, she just couldn't hurt him, not at the possibility of losing him again

"I asked you out for a date, I know it may be sudden, I know that you barely tolerate me, but I want to take you out for a date. Nothing too complex, or that requires you to stop being yourself, just a movie of your choice, dinner in a respectable restaurant, and a walk in the park, and we can stop at any moment you want", Keitaro replied, explaining his plan for a date, very simple, giving her full control of the situation, and that alone was scary

"Why me?", Motoko asked, in fact, she wanted to ask why not Kitsune, heck, even why not Shinobu, she was ready to turn a blind eye for the little cook, if that could bring Keitero back. Him choosing her was simply out of her comprehension

"Why not?", Keitaro shot back, it was like challenging her to sent him L. E. O., a challenge to see if everything was a bad as always, or if something had changed for good. The possibilities were endless, but most of the consequences would be horrible to bear, so, Motoko felt herself pressed to respond, should she accept the invitation, she'll be facing the wrath of the other girls, and possibly ruin Keitaro further, for she was still working on her temper against males. Should she decline the invitation, she'll be facing the wrath of the other girls, and ruin Keitaro further due to the quick rejection, resumed, she was just so screwed, that it was not fun at all.

"Motoko?", Keitaro asked, losing his smile with every passed second, pressing Motoko even more. Then, suddenly, she had an epiphany, a way to make him go away, and possibly try his luck with someone better

"Urashima... Keitaro, I will only accept to be your date, if you accept my challenge", Motoko replied with a voice of steel, feeling prideful of her intellect, should he fail, she will turn a blind eye on his moves on the others for a time, in the unlikely case he succeeds, well, he'll be worthy to date with

"Oh, and what is this challenge?", Keitaro asked, there was no hope on his eyes, but a predatory look, for a moment, Motoko felt like using her katana on him, but then again, after all his suffering, even she could see that he was just eager to be worthy to someone.

"Get me a sword, a good sword, that way I'll know you have nothing but good intentions on this date you want", Motoko challenged, not knowing that this challenge would mark the end of the days of the Hinata-sou

Early next day, near the sealed section of the Hinata-sou...

"So, will it work?", Keitaro asked to the energetic mad scientist

"Of course it will!... but, why do you want a meteor fragment? That is not edible", Su replied, actually she was truly puzzled, she knew about the challenge, but for the moment, she could not relate it to her current task, to make her invention work, an invention designed to teleport a small piece of a a meteor to the earth, in a safe way

"Motoko wanted me to give her a sword, but I want to give her the best of the swords, and for that, I need the best and rarest of the metals", Keitaro explained, and Su looked at him with a strange face

"Brother, if you want, I can fuse some alloys to make you a special quality of steel, extracting metal from a meteor fragment is not as easy as it sounds, the fragment could hold very little metal, or none at all", Su explained, using her smart side, not that it really surprised Keitaro, long ago he assumed that she was far smarter than she looked

"That's why I asked you for this to be able to tract specific metals... You'll see, in ancient times, the Highlanders made fearsome claymores, two handed swords that were unbreakable. To forge a claymore, you need to extract the metal from a fallen star, and then hammer it under the most intense heat possible, there are very few of these swords, and even fewer daggers made of this same metal.", Keitaro explained, while handling a strange looking golden dagger to Su

"What in the?... Lighter than Gold, yet it looks like it... harder than steel... very sharp... Keitaro, where did you got this? Not even in Molmol we have this kind of alloy!", Su said, awed by the piece of weaponry

"In an excavation, Mayan ruins, I managed to hide it before the local government kicked us out... we estimate it to be 3500 years old, and I haven't cleaned it, or sharpened it since I found it", Keitaro explained, and Su almost dropped the dagger, but she quickly regained her composure, and put the dagger into a compartment on the machine

"If you make a sword with this kind of metal, Motoko will be the one taking you to bed, and will rape you for days", Su muttered, although loud enough for Keitaro to blush

The machine started to work, and a sphere of energy formed, Keitaro and Su watched from a safe distance, they silently watched the colors of the sphere, which indicated the places were it was looking the same metal, red for a star, black for the empty space, blue for a planet. The waiting was prolonged as expected, due to the rarity of the metal, unfortunately, it was long enough for things going straight to hell.

"SEMPAI! WATCH OUT!", Shinobu's scream was heard all the way to Osaka, strong enough for Keitaro to hear it and know that trouble was on his way, but not good timed out to evade the danger

"KEITARO! YOU GODDAMMIT PERVERT! HOW YOU DARE TO HIT ON MOTOKO WHILE I HAVEN'T GIVEN YOU MY ANSWER!", Naru shouted with much more fury than usual, already at few steps of distance

"N-Naru!... but you... it was so much time!... I thought...", Keitaro tried to answer, to defend himself, but Naru never listen, she only know one way of acting, punching everyone away. The punch didn't act as usual, instead of sailing up to the sky, Keitaro went sailing forward, into the sphere, there was a scream of an unheard level of pain, a bright light, and then... nothing.

The Machine was broken, the ground where the sphere was, scorched, and no trace of Keitaro...

Unknown location, unknown amount of time later...

The first thing that Keitaro noticed when he woke up, was a sensation of numbness, unlike the usual pain that he felt after a well placed Naru-punch, secondly, that the place where he woke up was dark, damp, and cold, there was also a third factor at play, he lost his glasses

"Ugh!... where am I?", Keitaro asked aloud, unable to properly see, and in his weak state, he could only hope for someone to listen to him

"Oh! The new one has finally awoken! Good, now come near the bars, so I can see you better", Someone called in what Keitaro could identify as English, Keitaro could tell it was male, perhaps mature, although the tone of the voice was not exactly nice. Keitaro moved to the place he thought were the bars, more illuminated, air could pass, and also gave him the feeling of being in some kind of prison, or more likely, a dungeon

"H-Here I am", Keitaro said, thanking all the gods for taking English classes in the Toudai

"Pale skin, snotty expression, you certainly look like a Breton. The masters of Magicka, right?", The man asked, this time Keitaro was sure of it, there was a lot of malice on that voice

"Breton?", Keitaro asked with an unsure voice, not understanding how a Japanese man like him could be confused with a Britain citizen

"Ah! Perhaps you are one of those Mixed races, as nasty as that sounds, it doesn't matter, you'll only leave this place when they throw your dead body into the river. That's right, you are going to die here... Can you hear that? The Guards are coming... FOR YOU! HAHAHAHAHAHA!". The man laughed, filling Keitaro with a sense of dread, soon the sounds of heavy armored steps made him feel worse, the Guards were truly coming

"Baurus, keep that door closed!", A female commanding voice ordered, and the steps came closer

"Yessir!", A deep male voice replied

"My sons... they are dead, aren't they?", An aged and wise voice asked

"We are not sure of the yet, sir. The messenger only said that they were attacked", The woman replied

"No, they are dead, I know it", The aged man said, defeat and pain on his voice

"My job right now is to guide you to safety", The woman said, trying to sound as dutiful and loyal as possible, Keitaro started to back off from the gate, it was common to him to try to avoid unneeded trouble, there was no need to change that

"What is this prisoner doing here? This cell is supposed to be off limits!", The woman angrily shouted, making Keitaro wince, he thought they weren't so close, of course, without his glasses, any guess could be an epic fail

"The usual mix up with the watch, I...", the man with the deep voice tried to come up with an explanation, perhaps an apology, but the woman was very angry, and taking no bullshit

"It doesn't matter, now get that gate open. Stand back prisoner, we won't hesitate to kill you if you stand in our way", The woman ordered, and Keitaro obeyed, walking backwards until he hit the stone wall, where he remained quiet and unmoving

"No signs of pursuit", A third Guard reported, male by the sound of his voice

"Good, now let's move. We are not out of this yet", The woman replied, and then Keitaro heard them entering his cell, as they got closer he managed see that they were dressed on armor, head to toe, and even without glasses he could see the shape of katanas strapped to their waists

"Stay put, prisoner!", One of the Guards said, standing in front of him, while the others approached to wall of his cell

When the people approached the wall, Keitaro managed to see something different on one of them, the older one, he presumed, something that drew his attention, making him try to focus on his features, thing that infuriated the Guard he had in front of him.

"Stop staring to your Emperor, you lowly worm!", The Guard shouted with righteous fury, while reaching for his blade, thing that sent Keitaro in a very well practiced defensive pose of curling up and hope for explaining fast enough to avoid deadly damage

"I-I'm sorry! It's just that... I can't see very well... my eyes, my eyes...", Keitaro began to explain but the lack of physical damage told him to calm down, should he had his glasses, he could have seen them pitying his state of semi-blindness

"Let me see those eyes", The older man requested, much to the surprise of everyone

"But, my lord!", the woman tried to interject, although her voice denoted that she was under the service of the man, thus, unable to stop him

Keitaro froze when he felt the aged hands over his face, he heard the aged man mutter something, and then he saw a light, and a warm sensation filled his body, making him tingle inside, as if his own energy reacted in an harmonic way with the energy that this man was infusing him with, then the man took away his hand from Keitaro's face, and the results were incredible

"I... I can see! I can see again! Thank you so much sir! How can I repay you for this?", Keitaro expressed his happiness, he could have hugged the man, but he hasn't forgotten the Guards, who were awed by the show of kindness of their Lord

"I may not be a Breton, but I know a good amount of healing spells... what the?... you... I've seen you... let me see your face", the aged man said, and Keitaro obliged, soon, the face of the elder turned from shock to sadness, and then to resignation and peace

"You are the one from my dreams... Then the star were right, and this is the day. Gods, give me strength...", The Elder said, and even keitaro could see how he seemed to age even more

"What's going on?", Keitaro asked, not to the aged man, or the Guards, but to himself, unable to understand where did he fell, or what was happening

"Assassins attacked my sons, and I'm next. My Blades are leading me out of the city along a secret escape route. By chance, the entrance for that escape route leads though your cell", The Aged Man replied, and now Keitaro was able to notice the fine robes he was wearing, a Lord indeed

"Excuse me, my Lord, but why am I in jail?", Keitero finally asked the sensitive question, addressing the man with a more suitable title, so he could not sound impolite

"Perhaps the Gods have placed you here so we may meet. As for what have you done... It doesn't matter. That is not what you will be remembered for.", The Lord replied, although it wasn't a fulfilling answer, and yet, it made him feel a little better

"Pardon my ignorance, my Lord, but who are you?", Keitaro asked now, much to the amazement of the Guards, but the Lord smiled a knowing smile

"I am your Emperor, Uriel Septim. By the Grace of the Gods, I serve Tamriel as her ruler. You are a citizen of Tamriel, and you, too, shall serve her in your own way", The Emperor presented himself, and to the amazement of Keitaro and the Guards, he also declared him a citizen, a high honor

"What should I do now, my Lord?", Keitaro asked, now more than ever he wanted to be polite and don't screw up, he was in front of royalty

"You will find your own path. Take care... there will be blood and death before the end", The Emperor replied, his ominous words sent shivers through the spine of the Guards, who decided that they have waited long enough

"Please, sire, we must keep moving", The woman, probably a high ranked Guard, said, while pressing a random stone in the wall. Suddenly, the wall started to move, revealing a passage, a cave of sorts

"Better not close this one, there is no way to open it from the other side", The woman continued, as she led the others and the Emperor into the darkness

"This is your lucky day, just stand out of our way", the third Guard, a caucasic man said while passing Keitaro, the other Guard, an Afro-American strong man just sent him a glare that screamed to not do anything weird

As soon as the Emperor and the Guards entered the passage, Keitaro decided that it was safe to move, he also decided that he will be lost without a guide, so, he went after the Emperor. There were a lot of unanswered questions for Keitaro, like, where he was, it was the past?, or was it anther planet? Will he be able to return home? And more importantly, how were faring his tenants...

Hinata-sou, dusk of the first day when Keitaro disappeared...

"What do you mean HE is dead?", Motoko asked, disbelief on her voice, Keitaro had survived what could have certainly killed a Demon Lord, unscratched, Su's inventions where not even closer to that dangerousness

"She (sob) punched him (sob) into the portal", Su said between sobs, no one ever believed she could cry like that, but the fac is, she was berating herself for creating something that could kill the man she loved

"Then he is not dead, he is just being a lazy pervert anywhere else, build that thing again so we can go for him and teach him his place!", Naru shouted, Keitaro had crashed into so many of Su's deadly inventions before, surviving with barely a scratch or a minor burn, there was no reason to think this would be different

"Yo don't understand, bitch, you sent him into the outer space!, how do you expect him to survive there?", Shinobu explained, snapping against Naru, many times before she wanted to explode against her for hurting her beloved sempai, this time, she had gone too far

"What?, why did you build a portal to the outer space?", Motoko shouted, the chances of recovering Keitaro were now abysmal low

"Sorry to break this on you, suga, but I believe it had to do something with that challenge of yours, something about making you a sword from a star", Kitsune said, and in that very moment, Motoko's heart broke

"Well, we are better without him, much better, no longer we will have to watch his clumsiness, or have to tolerate his pervert acts", Naru said, trying to defend herself, although the tears in Motoko's face, and the look of unending rage on Shinobu's, told her that perhaps things would look grim on her near future

"Girls, where is my nephew? And why do you look like someone had just died?", Haruka asked as she entered the inn. As soon as she made her question, Shinobu bolted to her room, Motoko went upstairs in a zombie like motion, Su bursted into a heartbreaking cry, and Naru became petrified

"Haruka, you better sit down...", Kitsune said, hoping to live long enough to drink sake until she knew no more

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**Magnus: **Well, I hope you are liking this, from the next chapter onward, the scenes of Hinata-sou will be minimal, so we can focus more into Keitaro's adventure


	2. Blood and Tears

**Magnus:** Here goes chapter 2, I hope you like it, and I hope you like the twists and tweaks I'm adding from this chapter, for they will change many of the events to come, now enjoy, and remember, Read and Review!

**Disclaimer:** We don't own The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion or Love Hina, we want, really, but it won't be

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Chapter 2**

**Blood and Tears**

Keitaro ventured into the dark passage, almost trembling, even when his eyes were better than ever, he wasn't able to see, only his previous experiences in excavations with Zeta allowed him to walk without tripping into any stone, unfortunately that didn't extend to trip on people

"Ugh!", Keitaro grunted as he collided with what felt like a wall of steel... said wall of steel was not happy for the small impact

"Stay away, prisoner. Do not stand in our way!", Baurus almost yelled at Keitaro, who immediately backed away

"Sorry, it's hard to see down here", Keitaro apologized, and Baurus couldn't help but to roll his eyes

"Just don't get too close", Baurus warned, and then continued walking, with Keitaro following at a prudent distance

Soon the path became plain, like the floor of some kind of temple, or ancient sewers. After a turn, and a few stairs, Keitaro was able to see a small chamber ahead, were some sunrays from long ducts in the ceiling gave a dim illumination to the room, Keitaro was able to see some pillars and more stairs, but it wasn't like abandoned ruins, it looked more like an old underground passage

"There he is! Kill him for the glory of a new Dawn!", Someone yelled from one of the holes in the upper walls of the chamber, and then several monks jumped toward the walls, for one moment, Keitaro thought that if these were the assassins, then they will not be much of a challenge for the Emperor's guards... that thought died when a red energy surrounded the monks, and some fiendish armor covered them, as well as getting armed with fearsome looking daggers, soaked in poison, if the greenish dripping liquid was some indication

"Protect the Emperor!", Renault shouted, unsheathing her Katana, ready to kill and die for her Lord

"For The Emperor!", Baurus and Glenroy followed their Captain's example, and as one they charged against the assassins

The battle, while intense, was short lived, the guards were fast, strong and well trained, focusing their strength to make clean cuts, and their skill to cut at the joints of the fiendish armors, cutting arms and heads, and as the assassins died, their armors and weapons banished in the air, much to Keitaro's amazement. Keitaro and the Emperor were at the back of the room, the first afraid but watching the battle, should he need to defend himself or the Emperor, while the second, with a long sword, made of pure silver, if Keitaro's guess was correct, in a trembling hand.

"ARGH!", Renault grunted as an assassin managed to sneak behind her, stabbing her back with the poisonus weapon, the assassin's victory was short lived, for Glenroy decapitated him in a fit of rage for his fallen comrade.

"Baurus... Glenroy... Protect the Emperor...", Renault said, just before losing consciousness, falling to the ground like a lifeless doll, Baurus and Glenroy stood up, and went to the Emperor, they had a duty to fulfill, they will cry for their Captain at a later date

"Sire, are you ok?", Baurus asked to the Emperor, and Keitaro decided that it would be safer to move away from the group

"Yes... but, Captain Renault?", The Emperor asked, concern on his faithful soldier's well being

"She is dead... I'm sorry, sire, but we must keep moving", Baurus replied, his sadness was obvious, but the safety of the Emperor was top priority

Keitaro was speechless, he didn't know her, but he couldn't bear to have her dead, he walked to the fallen body of the Captain, ignoring the Emperor and the other guards, he did not even listened when he was told to not follow them anymore, he just knelt at the side of Renault's body, and in a hopeless endeavour, he reached to feel for vitals... much to his surprise, he found a faint pulse

"She is alive... SHE IS STILL ALIVE!", Keitaro announced, his being filled with hope and happiness... which quickly turned into despair as he notices that the guards left him behind, alone with a dieing woman

"No... I can't fall apart, she needs me. But how can I help her? I don't have the required equipment, I don't even know what type of poison was used... unless...", Keitaro Rambled, and then, in a jump of faith, he placed his hands over the poisoned wound, and then focused his chi.

At first, nothing happened, so, he tried to remember the feeling he had when the Emperor healed his eyes, and after a moment, it returned to him, the same feeling, his chi reacting to the energy that the Emperor filled him with, resonating in perfect balance, as he grasped the feeling, the entire chamber began to illuminate, with him as the focus of the light. Little by little, he pushed this energy into Renault's body, using all his willpower to clean her body of the poison, and to close the wound, it took some time, but in the end, Keitaro felt that she was out of danger, and thus, he stopped

"Ngh... what happened?...", Renault asked to no one in particular, as far as she knew, she fell doing her duty, maybe there was some backup... backup with powerful healers?

"You... were hurt... I just... tried to help...", Keitaro replied, he was very tired, one thing was to have all that chi to heal him from any injury, and another was to channeling it to heal another person, he will have to tell Motoko how much he admires her for being able to manipulate her own energies... if he ever goes back

"You?... you... are a healer?... You should have told us! Your help would have been very appreciated!... wait a second, where is the Emperor?", Renault asked, she was well known for taking her duty with deadly seriousness, and this was no exception

"I... I'm sorry ma'am, your companions thought you dead... and left us... you, behind", Keitaro explained, with a feeling of dread, a feeling that this particular attractive and well armed woman will blame all on him

"I see... good soldiers. Very well, healer, let's go after them, the Emperor need us more than ever", Renault stated, much to Keitaro's surprise

"Me? May I help you in this?", Keitaro asked, and while he was thinking on how strange was for him that a woman would see him as useful, or want his company at all, Renault thought it as a sign of humble nobility, common trait of the healers

Of course, a healer would be of invaluable help on our endeavor, besides, the Emperor named you citizen, and as such, it's your duty to serve the Emperor and Tamriel, Renault explained, while going to the gate to continue their path. Keitaro felt good, so good that he decided to not correct the Captain about him not being a healer, after all, if needed be, he could pull of the same trick once more

"DAMN IT!", Renault's shout made Keitaro react, for it was the type of shout he didn't like to hear

"What is it?", Keitaro asked, alarmed for a possible threat

"They locked the door behind them, we'll have to find another way... perhaps we could go back...", Renault reasoned, but at that moment, the sound of crumbling stone caught their attention. At one of the sides of the chamber, a hole opened in the wall, and the biggest rats Keitaro has seen entered by it

"Rats!", both Keitaro and Renault screamed at the same time, and then the animals charged at them. Renault took her katana, and with some easiness she killed the two feral pests... then she grunted, and took a hold of the back of her shoulder, where she got stabbed, immediately Keitaro went to her side, trying to help, feeling guilty for not doing a good work

"Captain Renault! Are you ok?", Keitaro asked, leaking concern from every pore, he tried to help her stand, too late noticing that he was touching her, a woman

"It seems that my wounds were too much for a healing spell... But I'm still alive, and it's thanks to you. Look, I know that all healers have forfeit any kind of combat style in order to be favored by the gods in their endeavor, but this is a special situation, and I'm sure that the gods will not frown upon you for defending yourself. Here, take this, I will need your help if we find more opposition", Renault explained, while removing from her belt a steel short sword, and handing it to Keitaro. He reluctantly took it, and after letting Renault go from his grip, he tied the scabbard to his waist, then he unsheathed it, and tested the weight, finding it a bit heavier than a machete

"I'll try, but...", Keitaro tried apologize in advance for any accidents with the weapon, but Renault raised her hand to stop him

"I know... no healer is supposed to hold these weapons, but the Emperor need us, and we'll have to work together to reach him, I can't fight properly, so I can't defend you from every danger we may face, now let's go, we have wasted enough time", Renault stated, while heading to the hole from where the rats came out

"That way? Didn't you say something about going back?", Keitaro nervously asked, unsure if it would be healthy to question the decision of such strong woman... suddenly bad memories about Motoko assaulted him, specially when Renault unsheathed her katana

"These were sewer rats, that means that this somehow will lead us to the sewers. The escape route runs trough the sewers, that means we'll be able to catch up with them faster if we go this way, now move, the Emperor needs us", Renault replied, to her, all in Keitaro made sense, his nervousness, his lack of skill with the sword, and the way he cared for her injuries, all pointed to a healer wannabe from the temple of Dibella...

"It seems so dark...", Keitaro pointed, afraid to annoy Renault too much, although she had to admit that it was an interesting and valid point, specially with her limited combat capabilities

"Perhaps you are right... Here, use this to brighten our path, and use the sword only if necessary... Last thing I need is for it to slip from your hands", Renault replied while handing an unlit torch to Keitaro, who promptly took two stones from the floor ad used them to generate a spark to lit the torch, for Keitaro it was way too easy, too many times trapped in tombs with Zeta gave him the required skill for this

'_No fire spell? What kind of vows did this healer make?'_, Renault thought, and then prompted Keitaro to enter the dak cave

The cave was not exactly natural, there were wood beams supporting what seemed to be a room, there was even the remnants of a well, although the time being abandoned seemed to be very long... if the skeleton was any indication. Renault promptly indicated Keitaro to follow her to were the skeleton was, he didn't know what could she want to investigate about it, until she began to remove pieces of what looked to be clothes... or an old leather armor of sorts.

"This armor may be old, but it's functional, put it on, it will protect you better than the rags you are wearing", Renault instructed, and for the first time, Keitaro looked at his outfit, it was scorched, dirty, and worn out, or in other words, just as it ends whenever he falls victim of Su's experiments.

Keitaro didn't like the idea, not at all, in the first place, the boots and cuirass didn't belong to him, but to the one who was wearing them a moment ago; secondly, said person was dead, a corpse, a skeleton to be precise; and third, the thought of bits of flesh still on it creeping him to no end... But he did it, fist the boots, that were a tad bigger than his size of shoes, then the cuirass, that was a bit too adjusted at his neck, all in all, it made him feel horrible, but a tad bit protected, there was a bow too, and some arrows, but both avoided them, being none of them any good in the marksman department. The room also contained something else, something inhuman, smaller than the standard human, ugly, deformed... Renault called it Goblin, fortunately it was dead, although Keitaro had to watch Renault searching the corpse, not that she found anything of use, besides a rusted iron key, which curiously opened the nearby door

"Quiet...", Renault instructed, for a rat was in the far end of the room, it would be too easy to cut it down, but has to make a point in the skills of her companion

"What is it?", Keitaro asked in a low voice, his eyes weren't so sharp spotting threats as others

"There is a rat at the end of the room", Renault replied, her voice low too, if she was right about this, she will need to spend a bit more of time with Keitaro before advancing

"I... I can see it now, should we avoid it?", Keitaro asked, although he knew the possible consequences of such course of action

"No... what I want it's you casting a fireball or whatever destruction spell you know", Renault replied, and Keitaro's eyes went wide

"What?... I can't do that!", Keitaro almost shouted, although managed to keep it as a whisper

"It's a feral animal, I'm sure your votes doesn't include these kind of threats", Renault said, already weighting the possible lack of skills on Keitaro

"Err... what I mean... is... that I don't know how", Keitaro replied, feeling already useless, apparently they expected that if he could heal, he could cast other kinds of magic, including destructive spell, such like fire

"Figures... This is your crash course in Magicka, so pay attention because I need you to be able to defend yourself in case I can't continue due to my injuries", Renault stated, and then tried her best to explain the use of Magicka to Keitaro

Keitaro was amazed at the simplicity of the subject, instead of the use of pentagrams, handseals, or complex verbal commands, it only required to focus willpower, his feelings, and his internal energy, his chi, granted, the Emperor mumbled, or rather chanted something to heal his eyes, but that was not necessary. Keitaro focused his chi and his feelings, he tried to recall his anger to fuel the fire and after a whole minute, he got a result... a tiny flame not bigger than a candle stick. A sudden fireball incinerated the rat, but it didn't came from Keitaro, but from Renault, who looked at him with a rather disappointed expression

"I suggest you to stop restraining your negative feelings, healer, these critters won't give you a second chance, much less the assassins, now move", Renault instructed, and Keitaro followed her a look of defeat, and yet, he felt good, he was advancing, and he wasn't being punished at all

They continued their way into the room, then found another aperture, an stretch corridor, Keitaro and Renault walked side by side, not wanting to be surprised and separated from each other, soon the sounds of scratching and screeches reached them, and they got ready to fight. Rats came out from the corner of the corridor, several of them, Renault knew that this time they will not get away without some scratches and a bite or two... until the rats passed them in a hurry...

"That was weird", Keitaro stated, puzzled by the strange behavior

"Indeed", Was Renault single answer, usually, rats were so hungry that they will fight whatever moves to get something to eat, to make them flee one would require fire or something that they would not eat. It was then that they heard another sound, a groan of sorts, they turned to see what it was, and saw something coming from the corner of the corridor, a human corpse, a walking corpse...

"A zombie? Here?"", Renault exclaimed, the existence of such thing was wrong, that it was so close to the city was even worse. To Keitaro this was horrible, more in the sense of the cruelty of the poor soul being slaved to the decaying corpse, a corpse forced to quench an unending hunger

"This is wrong... THIS IS WRONG!", Keitaro shouted, and as he felt a sudden fit of rage filling him, he decided, for the first time in many years, to let it out...

Renault watched one of the biggest fireballs that she has seen on her entire life, it consumed the zombie until only ashes were left of it, it was amazing, and awe inspiring

"Righteous fury?", Renault whispered, perhaps he will be of more aid than she thought... at least if something unholy tried to block their path

Renault and Keitaro continued their trek on the dark corridors, finding more rats, and some ruined crates and barrels, one of them had more torches, one of the crates had some lesser potions of healing and sorcery, Renault took one of the potions of healing, and prompted Keitaro to take one of the potions of Sorcery. Keitaro had to admit that while it tasted lighter than any energetic beverage he had tasted before, it worked better, is if it allowed his chi to flow easier, not that he needed to replenish it

A chamber with some sunlight at the center... where hey avoided a large pile of human bones, Renault made mental notes to ask for an investigation, such things shouldn't be happening in the capital. Another group of rats, and another corridor, and then a door... with a camp fire and human skulls hanging in ropes in front of it, Keitaro and Renault turned to look at each other, and went through the door, whatever was the responsible for all the killing, probably was behind the door.

As they entered through the door, Renault instructed Keitaro to unlit the torch, for last thing she wanted was to attract the attention of whatever was behind it, it left them in the dark, a dim light that bounced of the rocky walls was the only thing that allowed them to slightly make out the ground and walls. They crouched down and slowly moved forward, and the tunnel made a turn, Renault looked over the corner to try to distinguish something, and she was successful

"A Goblin... that explains a lot... very well, follow me, but keep your distance and make no sound", Renault instructed, and Keitaro obeyed, taking extra care to not trip as he usually do.

They carefully followed the Goblin, until it stopped in front of a rat being roasted in a fire, the repugnant smell almost made Keitaro throw up, but he resisted, while Renault sneaked behind the ugly creature, an in only one move, she decapitated it, the head rolled to the side, the dark blood bathed the roasting rat, and the body fell lifeless to the ground, it was gruesome, but it also granted their survival

"Well, at least that's over", Keitaro said, hoping not find another one of those things

"I hope so, healer, they are quite aggressive, specially in large numbers... let's move", Renault ordered, and after Keitaro lit up the torch again in the fire, they continued for the only available corridor

It was dark, cold and damp, but at the sight of a torch in the nearby chamber, both picked up the pace, suddenly, Keitaro caught the glimpse of movement with the corner of the eye, apparently another of the Goblins was nearby, and as they did with it's comrade, it did that on them, it sneaked around them and tried to go for the kill.

"RENAULT!", Keitaro screamed in panic, scaring the captain in the process

"WHAT IS IT?", Renault shouted too, while spinning to to see Keitaro, in that moment, as if decreed by the gods, Keitaro tripped, colliding with the Captain, and making them fall to the ground over a wire that none of them had seen, activating a trap

The trap consisted in spiked logs designed to swing over the chamber tied by chains, the weight and the metal spikes made them quite deadly, proof of that was the goblin that couldn't evade the trap, ending into a nauseating paste in on of the walls. Meanwhile, Keitaro found himself on top of the Captain, the strong woman and him locked eyes for a moment, faces at less than an inch from each other, and the deadly logs now stop moving at top of them, nearly two feet away from their bodies... after a few seconds, Renault managed to react

"You...", Renault started, and Keitaro once again felt the impending doom, whenever he managed to end in top of a woman, either for trying to help otr by accident, he was naru punched or getting a ki blast, there was nothing that pointed that this would be any different

"You saved my life... again... Thank you", Renault finished, and then, she gently pushed him to the side, so she could stand alone, then Keitaro did the same, and noticed the chamber, the trap, and the fate of the goblin, sometimes having dumb luck was a good thing, he just hopped that it didn't run out in the worst moment. On the next corridor two goblin archers awaited them, although they didn't stood a chance, because as Keitaro took cover behind some tied logs, the rope that tied them broke, and the logs rolled over the goblins, killing them instantly, making that are easier to pass

They didn't walk long before encountering their first challenge... a big chamber full of goblins, this included a pit with many hungry and angry rats in the middle of the chamber, in there, they were given no chance to prepare or to sneak their way around, the goblins attacked them at first sight. Renault fought them without much problem, even with her limited combat capabilities she was able to defend herself, killing some goblins in the process, Keitaro in the other hand, thanked her days of being a practice dummy for Motoko, which gave him the skill to parry all the attacks, but he didn't used the blade to attack, he just kicked, punched, or pushed the goblins away, awaiting for Renault to be the one to do the killing. Somehow, Renault didn't got angry at him for this, even when she expected him to kill them, she didn't got angry, perhaps a little frustrated, but not angry. A sudden growl caught their attention, and they managed to see a goblin that looked older, and held a staff with a goblin head in the end of it, it repulsed Keitaro to no end, but Renault knew exactly what was it

"Watch out!", Renault Shouted, while tackling Keitaro behind a rock, just in time to avoid the lightning that came out from the staff

"What the hell is that?", Keitaro asked, alarmed for the sudden turn of events

"Some sort of lighting staff, although it's the first time I see that the goblins have one of their own making", Renault explained, sounding surprised as well, then another lightning struck the rock, alarming them a little more

"Look, it's possible to flank him from both sides of the chamber, and while it takes in one of us...", Renault started to explain her strategy, simply hoping for the best, unfortunately, Keitaro was no one to let someone else sacrifice

"No, I will get it's attention, so you can sneak behind it and finish it", Keitaro shot his plan, it was bold and heroic, something Renault didn't expect

"WHAT?", Renault asked aloud, she was the Blade, she was the one to take the role of heroine and defender, not the healer

"Look, I can resist it, I know I can, you may not believe me, but...", Keitaro tried to explain, he was about to say that he was nothing short of immortal, that he even managed to survive the strike of a thunder once, but was silenced by the hand of Renault, who was looking intently at him. Renault tried to carefully study his features, and after finding enough resemblance with the Bretons, she considered his plan

"Are you sure you can withstand it?", Renault asked, she knew that Bretons were brutally resistant to magicka, enough to withstand what could easily kill an imperial, or any other race, she just hoped that the lightning staff of the goblin wasn't strong enough to kill a Breton

"Yes, I'm sure", Keitaro replied, it wasn't an overconfident declaration, he wasn't bluffing, and that was enough for Renault

"Very well, let's go!", Renault said, and then Keitaro went out of their hiding spot

"OVER HERE! YOU UGLY MONSTER!", Keitro shouted, gaining the attention of the goblin.

The Goblin was shooting nonstop, getting angry at how Keitaro managed to evade every one of it's lightnings, years of being attacked at the Sou made Keitaro nimble to near inhuman levels, at least when harm was in the way. In a moment of hesitation from Keitaro, the Goblin managed to strike him with the lightning, making Keitaro wail in pain, the lightning didn't stop, the goblin was solely focused in frying him... until the blade of a Katana came out of it's chest, making his attack stop

"Die, filthy goblin!", Renault said to the dieing creature, and then she kicked it to the pit with the rats, who quickly went to eat it's corpse. Renault went to the kneeling shape of Keitaro, worried out of her mind, wondering how many life debts could she owe to this young breton in a single day, and how many lives she'll have to live to repay them all

"Are you ok, Breton?", Renault asked, she didn't know what to expect, will he stand up just alittle stuned by the lightning, or will he drop dead?

"Keitaro", Keitaro replied, looking at her with a sore smile, Renault looked at him, puzzled at the sound of the weird word, it sounded almost like elvish, perhaps something from High Rock

"My name is Keitaro Urashima, not Healer, not Breton, if it's not much to ask, I would like if you call me by that", Keitaro continued, while standing up, it was as if he had just cast a powerful healing spell on himself, recovering any damage that the lightning had done on him. Renault considered his request, she could have said that it was improper for her to call him by his name, to make him her equal, also it would imply certain degree of trusth... on the other hand, he was a breton healer with minimal combat abilities so far, also he had marvelous healing skills, there was the fact the she owed him thre life debts already...

"Very well, Keitaro... and so you know it, my name is Janice, Janice Renault...", Janice replied, Keitaro locked eyes with her, and there he was, looking at a beautiful woman, strong and loyal, but when he began to feel something warm growing on his chest, he decided that it was a good moment to keep walking

"Thank you, Janice, now let's move, the Emperor need us", Keitaro said, while taking out the torch again, and lit it up in a nearby fire, giving thanks for the darkness covering his blush

"Indeed... but it's still Captain Renault for you, understood?", Janice added, berating herself for the brief moment of weakness, and tanking Keitaro for doing the correct thing at the moment, she was Blade, there was no room for romance... not with the Emperor in danger

The rest of the trip was easy enough, a few more corridors, and after another door, they got to another part of the passage... by chance, the Emperor and his remaining guards were just passing through it

"I'm telling you, we should find a safe spot, and defend it until backup arrives!", Glenroy stated, much to the annoyance of both the Emperor and his companion

"And what makes you think that there will be any backup coming here?", Baurus asked, just then, Janice decided to call for their attention

"Baurus! Glenroy! Stop arguing and focus on protecting your Emperor!", At her voice, The Emperor and his guards turned to see her with faces of disbelief, thay took her for dead, they abandoned her, and now she was back... along the prisoner

"C-Captain Renault!", Glenroy chocked on his surprise

"We saw you... We thought... I... I...", Baurus was unable to elaborate, while seeing her coming down from the hole in the wall. The Emperor smiled at her, glad to see her alive and well, but also smiled approvingly at Keitaro, who was struggling to be the less noticeable as possible

"I know, but this kind healer brought me back from the gates of death, so I can serve my Emperor a bit longer", Janice said, while signaling Keitaro. Glenroy and Baurus exchanged glances, unable to believe how this prisoner could be so worthy... not even them had managed to get a good impression on the Captain

Any more conversation was cut off by the sound of footsteps, soon they found themselves surrounded by more assassins

"Protect the Emperor!", Janice shouted once more, and then leaded the defense of the Emperor

The battle lasted just a few seconds, the assassins seemed to be surprised to see the Captain still among the living, and that made them slower, enough to be slain by the trained hands of the Blades. After dealing with the threat, the Emperor talked to Keitaro, for he needed to ensure that certain messages were delivered before the end

"I see that you have proved your worth to my Blades, earning the trust of the Captain, although they haven't seen what I've seen... How can I explain?", The Emperor began, smiling grandfatherly to Keitaro, who was very attentive to whatever he may say or explain to him, perhaps he knew of a way to send him back

"Listen. I know that you are not from our world, but the Nine Divines, whose hands guide our fates, have placed you here. You, have a purpose, a destiny to fulfill, the Gods have shown that to me", The Emperor said, and Keitaro looked down for a moment, this was a topic he was uncomfortable with

"I'm sorry, my Lord, but I'm in not good terms with the Gods... at least my Gods. I don't know about yours", Keitaro replied in almost a whisper, still the Emperor heard him, but his smile remained there, gentle and caring

"I don't know about your gods, or why they don't appreciate you, but I've served the Nine all my days, and I chart my course by the cycle of the heavens. The skies are marked with numberless stars, each a fire, and every one a sign. I know these stars well, and I wonder... which sign marked your birth?", The Emperor's question threw Keitaro off balance, for a moment, he thought on telling him his zodiacal sign, then again, this was not his world, then he thought on telling him his birthday, once again there was no logic on thinking that the months will be the same, so, deducing that he didn't pass more than a few hours unconscious, he gave his answer

"My birthday comes in fifteen days, my Lord, if that serves as indication", Keitaro replied, in the past, letting the gods decide his fate never worked well, but today, maybe these new gods will prove more gentle

"That's Heartfire eight...", Baurus suddenly said, showing that he was indeed paying attention to their conversation

"So you are marked by the Lady... no wonder you are such a kind person", Janice stated, making Keitaro blush, and this time, the room was illuminated enough for everyone to see, although they did not made any fun of it

"The signs I read shows the end of my path, my death a necessary end, will come when it will come", The Emperor's words, while serene, were like a bad omen, and Janice, Baurus and Glenroy exchanged looks of worry, they were supposed to protect him to the very end, but the idea of that end being so close was not welcome

"What about me, my Lord?", Keitaro asked, he wanted to call him something more close, but he felt that the best was to keep on the correct and polite level

"Your stars are not mine. Today the Lady shall fortify you in your quest for Glory", The Emperor stated, it sounded cryptically, and not very reassuring

"Can you see my fate?", Keitaro asked now, if the Emperor was able to see the future, he may be able to see if he will ever return home

"My dreams grant me no opinion of success. Their compass ventures not beyond the doors of death... But in your face, I behold the sun's companion. The dawn of Akatosh's bright may banish the coming darkness. With such hope, and with the promise of your aid, my heart must be satisfied", The Emperor replied, in a solemn voice that spoke not of resignation, but of the courage to face destiny without fear

"My promise and my word you have, my Lord... But, aren't you afraid to die?", Keitaro asked, he had to ask, he really wanted to be as brave as the Emperor, should he understand it, he may be able to be a better manager for his tenants...

"No trophies of my triumphs precede me. But I have lived well, and my ghost shall rest easy. Men are but flesh and blood. They know their doom, but not the hour. In this I am blessed, to see the hour of my death... To face my apportioned fate, then fall.", The Emperor tried to explain, and while the Blades seemed to not understand, to Keitaro it was something incredible, he understood that this man, the Emperor, dedicated his life to make the best for his people before the day of his death, so he could die without any burden of unfinished duties to the empire, this was a true King, a man to serve to the very end

"Where are we going now, my Lord?", Keitaro asked, for he felt important to have a sense of direction, and to redirect the Blades into something less grim

"I go to my grave. A tongue shriller than all the music calls me. You shall follow me yet for a while, then we must part", The Emperor replied, and after a second to collect themselves, the Blades prompted them to keep going, the Emperor may say that his death is near, but they will fight it so long they had breath on their bodies

Keitaro followed the group with his torch at his left hand, while the right hand was holding the grip of the steel short sword, he didn't want to use it, for he never before had the need to spill someone else's blood, but he also knew, that only death will stop the assassins from killing the Emperor. The next room had some stairs and pillars, and after walking a bit, two more assassins made an attempt on the group, and once again, they fell to the might of the Blades, but with every step, a sensation of dread and impending doom began to fill Keitaro's heart, as if he knew that they were walking directly into a death trap. Soon the entered another hall, one with a little longer stairs, near the end of the passage, as Janice said

"I don't like the look of this, I'll scout ahead, you wait here and protect the emperor", Janice ordered, but Baurus didn't like it a bit, for even he could see that his Captain wasn't fighting to her full potential

"No, you are still hurt, I have a better chance if this is an ambush, I'll go", Baurus stated, and Janice had no other option but to agree

As Baurus went downstairs to check that it wasn't a trap, the Emperor got close to Keitaro, and then whispered to his ear a message so important, that it may one day change the destiny of all Tamriel... and Keitaro's world

"Keitaro, I have known you for some time now, I have seen your life through may dreams, I have seen your world, and how it treated you as someone worthless. All the injustice you have lived has broken you in levels that no God should allow, but now you are here, please give a chance to the Nine to show you how valuable you really are, do not try to find your way back home, but let your home tell you that you are now in there... and before thinking on returning to our old life, think on a reason to let the fire of life return to your soul.", Uriel Septim's words pierced through Keitaro's heart, the Emperor knew it all, all about his life, and still, he believed... believed on his worth as a man, and that alone made him feel... good. A second later Keitaro noticed that what the emperor said to him was not in English, but Japanese... it was humbling, to be before such a man

"Sire, Keitaro, Baurus call us to advance, the path is clear", Janice interrupted them, and both nodded, and advanced. No soon they got to the gate that lead to the sewers, they found that the situation was spiraling down way too fast

"Damn it! The gates are closed from the other side, it's a trap!", Glenroy shouted, enraged for being caged like a hopeless animal

"What about that other passage?", Baurus signaled. It wasn't an option, but a lack of options, so they walked in, finding that it was a dead end

"Their death will grant us eternal life!", Someone shouted, and then the sounds of several foot steps reached the ears of the Blades

"They are behind us!", Glenroy said, alarmed by the sudden turn of events

"Keitaro, stay with the Emperor, and protect him with your life. Blades to me! FOR THE EMPEROR!", Janice ordered to Keitaro, and by her call, she and the other two Blades charged against the enemy. Keitaro threw away the torch, and took a stance pretty much like Motoko's, years of punishment will pay off in the shape of last stand, he just hoped that his innate resistance to damage still was as effective as ever

The sounds of the battle outside the small room grew in intensity, but the voices of the three Blades were still clear as the day. Keitaro began to focus, he needed to be able to tell apart friend from foe if someone entered by the only door, should it be foe, he will have to act without thinking, least his kindness prevented him from deliver a fatal blow, and should friend entered, he'll needed to restrain himself from attacking, and give any support that they may need. The Emperor knew that it was his hour, there was no more time left, he needed to act, and fortunately, the only one he knew could carry this task, was by his side... In a move that surprised Keitaro, the Emperor made him spin to face him, and shoved something on his hands

"I can go no further. You alone must stand against the Prince of Destruction and his mortal servants. He must not have the Amulet of Kings!", The Emperor said, and then Keitaro looked at the object on his hand, it was the big and precious Amulet that the Emperor had on him a moment ago, The Amulet of Kings

"Take the Amulet. Give it to Jauffre. He alone knows where to find my last son. Find him, and close shut the jaws of Oblivion", The Emperor instructed, his eyes reflected the conviction that Keitaro will not fail on this task, the one that Keitaro unknowingly, but willingly accepted. The events that unfolded next happened too fast, a wall sliding down behind the Emperor, and due to the closeness, he had no time to react, to take him away from the danger, and in a heart beat, a dagger pierced the heart of the Emperor, who fell with a last smile directed to ex-manager of the Hinata-sou, now citizen of the empire of Tamriel, and an angry man that has just lost his Lord

"NNOOOOOOOO!", Keitaro's enraged scream filled the entire passage, and for the first time in his life, he had no intention on calm down...

* * *

Hinata-sou, morning of the day after the disappearance of Keitaro...

Motoko woke up abruptly, she had tears on her eyes, and a sharp pain on her heart. She just had a strange dream, a dream about Keitaro, about him being in another world, and how he has just lost someone he had come to respect for being wise and kind

"Oh, Keitaro...", Motoko softly said, she had contradictory feelings, on one side, she wanted the dream to be real, for that will mean that Keitaro was alive and well, for that will mean that there was a chance to recover him; on the other if it was real, it would mean that he had just gone trough a traumatizing event, and that he was in great danger

"But it was just a dream...", Motoko finally rationalized, and then went downstairs, she normally would start the day with her usual exercises, but today, she had no spirit for her practices... she had no spirit at all, not without Keitaro

Motoko went to the kitchen, for a moment she thought on eat to the point of being obese, so no one ever will look at her, she never liked male attention, but after Keitaro, she didn't want anyone to look at her body, ever. In the kitchen was a sobbing Shinobu, she was still cooking breakfast, but was sobbing as if the most sad thing had just happened in front of her, and that, caught Motoko's attention

"Shinobu, why are you crying?", Motoko asked, more to distract herself from her own depression

"You are crying too", Shinobu shot back, but Motoko didn't ran away, for the first time, she felt that it was good to let others see through her soul, and let them see how frail she really was

"It's about Keitaro?", Motoko asked, and Shinobu nodded

"I was crying for Keitaro too... and I'll be crying for him a lot more, for a long time, so it's ok, I know you loved him", Motoko said, trying to sound understanding

"I STILL LOVE HIM! HE IS STILL ALIVE!", Shinobu cried, and Motoko did something she wasn't used to do, but that felt right, she hugged Shinobu, and allowed her to remain on her arms

"I love him too, even if not as strong as you do, I love him too", Motoko whispered to her, and then felt how she calmed down, and that lifted her spirit a little

"You know, I dreamed that he was in an adventure, far away from here, where Naru can not reach him", Shinobu began, and Motoko rustled her hair, and prompted her to continue, perhaps she will tell her her own dream, so they can share the memory of their beloved Keitaro, even if it's through dreams and fantasies

"There he met this woman, she was as strong as you, but much more tolerating... he even saved her life a few times, and... she seemed to like him", Shinobu pouted the last part, jealous at the image of the infatuated female knight... she didn't notice how Motoko cringed, because that dream seemed oddly similar to hers

"Then there was this old Lord, and Keitaro seemed to feel him as a father figure... and he liked Keitaro like a son", Shinobu continued, and this time Motoko froze

"Then poor Uriel was killed in front of Keitaro... and he was so sad...", Shinobu continued, she was about to cry again, when Motoko broke the hug, and locked eyes with her

"The name... was Uriel Septim?", Motoko asked, and then the time seemed to froze for both of them

* * *

**Magnus:** Well, do you like it? As you may, or may not, have deducted by the title, this story will be centered in the expansion "Knights of the Nine", and also will cover the main quest of the game, but Keitaro can't take on all the guilds, can he? So, feel free to suggest other characters for the different guilds and factions, also make sure to suggest which side quests he should take during his pilgrimage


	3. New World

**Magnus: **Sorry for the big delay, things aren't easy when you have to keep your work and looking after a sick parent, anyway, here is the third chapter of this special crossover, enjoy! And Remember, Read and Review!

**Disclaimer: **We don't own Love Hina or The Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion, as well as anything you believe is being mentioned in this fanfic.**  
**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

**New World**

The Blades were fighting with their all, even when for every cultist they took down and another two took the place of their fallen comrade, even when they knew that they will finally die defending their emperor… Against all hope they fought, knowing that in the end their memory will be faded into history, barely remembered as nameless guards failing their duty.

"NOOOOO!" Keitaro's scream filled the entire passage, alerting both friend and foe. Laughter was heard from the assassins, who began to retreat, giving no importance to the Blades. The Blades, noticing that there was no more battle for them, darted to the room, where they faced the cruel reality, they have failed.

"I'M NOT LETTING YOU DIE! YOU HAVE TO LIVE!" Keitaro kept shouting, his body splashed with blood, and his chi flaring with intense light, but the spirit and soul of Uriel Septim was gone. The effort was a heartbreaking scene for the Blades, who were at the verge of tears.

"Enough, Keitaro. Do not waste your life. You did all you could. You are no soldier, you are not to blame" Janice spoke, slowly taking away the crying Keitaro from the Emperor's body, not wanting to see him die due to mana exhaustion.

"By the Nine… We have failed…" Glenroy voiced, while Baurus checked the Emperor's body.

"Why? You did all you could… And even more…" Keitaro asked, making Renault and Glenroy grimace

"The Blades are sworn to protect the Emperor, and now he and all his heirs are dead" Janice explained, and Keitaro understood, they not only lost their lord, but their honor too.

"The amulet! Where is the Amulet of Kings? It isn't in the Emperor's body" Baurus sudden shocked voice startled the other Blades, who looked at Keitaro for a possible answer

"The Emperor give it to me" Keitaro replied while showing the majestic jewel, he expected for them to take it away from him, but the Blades didn't dare to touch it

"Strange. He saw something in you. Trusted you" Baurus said, looking intently at Keitaro

"They say is the Dragon Blood that flows through the veins of every Septim. They see more than lesser men" Janice continued, her eyes trying to see what kind of amazing things the Emperor saw on Keitaro, although she already figured it was his pure heart.

"The Amulet of Kings is a sacred symbol of the Empire. Most people think of the Red Dragon Crown, but that's only jewelry. The amulet has power. Only a true heir of the Blood can wear it, they say" Glenroy further explained, and Keitaro slowly came to understand how important was the amulet, and how much did the Emperor trusted him

"He must have given it to you for a reason. Did he say why?" Janice asked now, curious, and hopeful

"He said that I must take it to Jauffre…" Keitaro began his explanation, ready to pass the quest into some more capable hands, and yet ready to carry it

"Jauffre? He said that? Why?" Glenroy asked, also rising the hope in his heart

"There is another heir…" Keitaro replied, somehow he knew it, this was a new light of hope for the Blades… and for the Empire.

"Nothing I ever heard about… But Jauffre would be the one to know, he is the Grandmaster of our order" Janice stated, her eyes shining with the opportunity offered

"Although you may not think so to meet him. He lives quietly as a monk at Weynon Priory, near the city of Chorrol" Baurus added, with a slight smile at the memory of his mentor

"How do I get there?" Keitaro finally asked, feeling the need of keeping up to his word, and carrying on the last wish of the man that showed him kindness and a word of hope

"I will take you there" Janice quickly said, many things were her fault today, she even felt guilty for using Keitaro's mana reserves, for she thought that should she had been allowed to die, he may have been able to save the Emperor's life

"Captain?" Baurus and Glenroy asked at the same time, both thinking on why she has to do it, and not them, or the three of them

"Keitaro, while a powerful Breton Healer, is not a soldier. The Emperor tasked him into carry this dangerous quest due to his pure heart, and a resolve of steel. But he will need someone to help him to protect himself and the amulet, most of the disgraces that happened today are my fault, so I will protect the one that the Emperor has chosen" Janice explained, and both Baurus and Glenroy looked at each other with awe in their eyes, this was a concerned woman, and not their cold blooded captain

"But you are still not fully healed, you need to rest and…" Keitaro began to ramble, obviously worried for the well being of the strong woman… Much to the amusement of the male soldiers

"MY WORD IS FINAL! Besides, I owe you my life. My honor states that now I have to stay by your side until my life debts are fully repaid" Janice explained, and Keitaro argued no more, he perfectly knew this kind of mindset, stubborn. Baurus and Glenroy couldn't help but to gasp at the idea of their captain being saved more than once by the weak looking Keitaro

"First you need to get out of here. Captain, here is the key to the sewers" Baurus said, giving the key to Janice

"The sewers?" Keitaro asked with a face of discomfort. Is not that he had forgotten about them, is just that after all the lived on the caverns…

"There are rats and the occasional goblin down there, but with Captain Renault by your side, there is nothing you can't overcome" Glenroy added, but it seemed to worry Keitaro even more

"From there I'll take you directly to Weynon Priory, no delays, no detours, no chances taken. Now let's go" Janice called, but Keitaro had another question to ask

"What about you? What will you do?" Keitaro asked to the male Blades

"We'll stay here to protect the Emperor's body, and make sure no one follows you. You'd better get moving. May Talos guide you" Baurus replied, and prompted them to leave. Soon, the sound of a door opening, and some heavy stone cover being moved was heard, signaling the successful entrance to the sewers, making Baurus relax… But not Glenroy

"Baurus?" Glenroy asked, in an startled voice

"What now?" Baurus asked, fearing that some of the cultists had returned noticing the lack of the Amulet of Kings… Or to loot the body of the Emperor

"How much strength is required to cleave a man in two?" Glenroy asked, he even sounded nervous

"More than what you have, and also a sharp sword or claymore. Why do ou ask?" Baurus asked back, annoyed for the seemingly random question of his companion

"Then that little and squishy Breton is not as defenseless as the captain portrayed…" Glenroy replied, and against any sane advice from his common sense, Baurus turned around to look at where Glenroy was looking… One of the cultists, split in two, and by to look of it, in only one cut. However, where Glenroy just noticed the body, Baurus noticed the rest of the room. There was the mark of a perfect vertical slash on the wall behind the corpse, as if the one who cut the body had wielded a sword long enough to also leave it's mark on the wall, and that left the Blade shuddering

"Damn!" Baurus finally muttered

With Keitaro…

The sewer was no challenge, a few rats, which Keitaro had to admit that even when still giant, they were smaller than the ones they faced in the cave. The goblins they found, although still repugnant, were dumb and almost docile, so they posed no threat whatsoever. In a span of a pair of minutes, they were at the sewer entrance.

"Come, let's get out of here. Some fresh air will do wonders for us right now" Janice said, leading Keitaro outside, to take his first breath on the air of Tamriel. Keitaro followed, his eyes slowly getting used to the bright sun, his skin feeling the pure air and the warmth of the scenery permeating his being. There were beautiful flora that he had never seen before, and flora he has seen many times, the small dock in front was a nice decoration for the beautiful lake in front of him.

It was then, when the adrenaline was now down, that the actions of a moment ago hit him full force. He, Keitaro Urashima, peace lover and overall good natured guy, has killed. The memory of his first human blood spilled filled him with horror and nausea, and he gave in quickly. Janice watched with sorrow how Keitaro puked and cried, vomiting mostly bile, there was no need to ask what was wrong, she knew perfectly what was wrong, a healer has just taken his first life, and she knew he will be berating himself for some time.

"Keitaro, I have to report back with Councilor Ocato, in the city. I don't know if you have been arrested at all, or what happened to you, But for now is best if you avoid the capital. I want you to follow the walls to the west, until you reach the great bridge, and cross it, there you'll find an inn at the Weye settlement, wait for me there… You may want to get cleansed and do some praying" Janice said, and Keitaro slowly nodded, and began his trek, leaving a rather worried Janice behind

"Well, this rules out this being my world on any age" Keitaro finally muttered, while walking in the pointed direction. Now, anyone could have thought that this was some part of Europe, with the castle and towers and all that, but to Keitaro, who had been on many expeditions around the world, excavations on buildings of all eras and architectures, the fact of not fully recognize the architecture of the walls, the city and the bridge, was a big warning of this not being Europe, or any continent at all… Although the female looking orc in the stables could have been another big pointer

"I kinda feel in a Tolkien's book… Anyway, I better move on, no use staying here thinking" Keitaro muttered, and then began to cross the bridge. The beautiful stone bridge was wonderful sight, pretty large with beautifully crafted arcs. It made Keitaro wish to have a camera, and take pictures to show in the Hinata-sou… Such thought quickly made him depressed, for he knew that the chances of him returning may be nil.

"Not that it matters… Who would miss me? Shinobu? No, she is better without me, now she can look for someone her age, someone who can take care of himself, and of her. Motoko? No, I never stood a chance, she may have given me a chance, but everyone knew it was pity. Mutsumi? No, she needs a doctor, not an archeologist. Kitsune? She only needs the money and the booze, I never was a true option for her. Su? Well, I would miss her cheerful attitude, but not her constant attacks, although she will be hard pressed to find another play mate, yeah, she may miss me, but she'll be fine. Naru? Naru…" As Keitaro began to feel some anger building up inside with the thought of his most violent tenant throwing a big party to celebrate his departure, he decided to change focus on another thing, whatever to divert his anger, and to prevent remembering that he was now a murderer, self defense or not.

Upon reaching Weye, Keitaro noticed a Caucasian man watching the lake, he was dressed in overalls, nad had a head-wrap at his graying hair, he seemed nostalgic, sad, and in need of help, just what Keitaro needed to get out of his depression.

"Excuse me sir, are you ok? Do you need help?" Keitaro asked, too late he remembered to be covered in blood, and probably smelling like the sewer, but the man didn't seemed to mind about it

"You know, stranger, there comes a time in every man's life when he has to admit that he's lost the fight" The man said with a sad voice, and Keitaro couldn't help but to nod in agreement, for he shared the feeling

"Well, I've fought and I've lost. Who did I lose to? Who is my great enemy? Well, don't laugh… it's a bunch of damn fish" The man continued his rant, but Keitaro didn't laugh, fishing can be more dangerous than one could think, and accidents can happen to anyone, if the bandaged leg of this man was any indication

"How can I help you?" Keitaro suddenly asked, for he didn't want to see anyone suffering

"Go on and lau… Wait. Help? Oh. Well, then… I'm Aelwin Merowald, a fisherman. Or at least, I was. Until one of those slaughterfish damn near took my leg off" Aelwin presented himself, and the tension seemed to began to lift

"My name is Keitaro Urashima, I'm a… healer. So, what happened?" Keitaro presented himself, and decided to go by the job that Janice called him, if only to blend better

"I was collecting their scales, see" Aelwin showed a few big, rough and hard looking scales to Keitaro, who nodded in recognition of them being from some kind of fish, although the term slaugtherfish didn't ring any bells

"I had a contract with this young alchemist. You wouldn't believe what he was paying for those scales!" Aelwin continued with a fond smile now, seemingly enjoying it as an easy job with a large reward, but then, his smile banished

"Then last month, one of the bastards got a hold of my leg. Took me right out of the business. But this alchemist, he need the scales right away" Aelwin said, somewhat angry, perhaps at the idea of someone completing this job instead of him

"About those scales…" Keitaro had to intervene, he just had to do it, it was his nature, and couldn't just leave the man to his misfortune

"The alchemist was paying so much for the scales that I'm close to having enough saved so that I can retire. But now, I can't get out there to the lake, not with this leg. I only needed twelve more scales! Can you believe it? I was so close!" Aelwin replied, speaking as if his bountiful reward was now completely lost. Suddenly, he looked at Keitaro with a new light, as if he had been sent by the gods to help him, so, he continued

"I've picked up a few things in my travels. If you head out there and bring me back the twelve scales that I need, I can make it worth your time. Help an old fisherman out, wont you?" Aelwin begged making sound the reward as a great treasure, not that Keitaro was truly interested in the money, besides, taking a bath in the crystal waters of the lake under this beautiful sun, would do wonders for his well being, and how hard could be to catch a fish or two for their scales?

Meanwhile…

Janice was having a hell of a headache, there were just so many strange things she just learned, and so many she just deduced. Like how fast did Councilor Ocato heard of the Emperor's death, and how fast he and the others began to take control of the city. Of course the death of the Emperor will be kept in secret until Jauffre says otherwise, for that was one of the basics tactics agreed by the Emperor, making it an internal law. Janice didn't told them about the Amulet of Kings or the notice of a last heir, she decided to keep it as a secret information that only Jauffre could tell to the world, she only reported the she has to deliver the Emperor's last words to the Grandmaster of the Blades, and she got no opposition, although she asked reinforcements for Baurus and Glenroy. However, her curiosity also made her ask on the prison about Keitaro, which also awarded her with more confusing information

"There was no prisoner in the off limits cell? Then… How did he get inside?" Janice wondered, granted, the guards could have lied to her, but then again, as a Blade, it was much better for the guards to say that he was placed there to scare him, or to take revenge for whatever silly reason. To hear that they hadn't put anyone in there was strange news

"Perhaps the gods placed him there…" Janice finally rationalized, invoking the words of the late Emperor when they first met Keitaro

"Captain Renault, here are the provisions for your travel, and here are the two mantles you asked for. There is no horse available right now, if you could wait until tomorrow…" The guard reported as he brought two traveler mantles and one bag with food and some potions

"Thank you, but I have to part right away" Janice replied, and by putting a mantle on herself, she departed to meet with Keitaro, now having more questions for the guy that saved her

Back with Keitaro…

The waters of the Rumare lake were clear, fresh and sweet, but also full of life. Keitaro saw many creatures he didn't recognize, like a rather strange and giant crab, or the colorful fishes, but what he recognized by just looking at them, were the slaughter fishes. A strange breed of piranha and eel, large, with large mouths filed with large fangs, being surrounded by a dozen of them didn't help at all though.

'_Why me?'_ Keitaro thought, being underwater at the moment didn't help in anyway at all, soon the slaughterfishes launched their attack, and Keitaro barely managed to take out the steel short sword to defend himself

Wewnet Inn, a one hour later…

Janice entered the inn, ready to quickly find Keitaro and take him away for the task ahead, she didn't want to overhear any conversation, and she certainly hoped to not find Keitaro being harassed by any tavern-maid, but the topic of the day was something hard to pass

"Did you see that young Breton? I've never seen someone careless enough to get himself in the middle of a slaughterfish nest before!" One of the fishermen said, mostly laughing, making Janice cringe in horror

"Indeed I've seen him, and he managed to come out alive and unscratched, you shouldn't laugh at him, may as well he is a powerful wizard, or worse, a Spellsword" Another fisherman replied, relieving Janice, but making the other fisherman laugh more

"Bah! I'm sure it was his dragon skin, damn Bretons and their bloody magicka!" The fisherman added, and five Bretons looked at him with enraged eyes, Janice decided it was a good moment to snatch Keitaro and leave the inn

Keitaro was by the fireplace, drying himself, and looking at his reward… a mere bronze ring with a cheap looking sapphire. Keitaro could have go without a reward, if not for the fact that he didn't expect the fish to be so… fierce. Of course Aelwin claimed the ring to be magical, he said it to be truly valuable, a heirloom even, Keitaro could have said thanks if the man simply had said it to be his reward, there was no need to say it was some legendary Jewel of Rumare

"Breath under water… of course…" Keitaro muttered, placing the ring on his finger, if only to not losing it so fast, or maybe because it still looked somewhat good. Suddenly he imagined it on Shinobu's finger, and he felt depressed again… until a dry and warm mantle was put on his shoulders

"Ready to go?" Janice asked, taking Keitaro by surprise

"Capt…" Keitaro began, but Janice put a finger on his lips, silencing him before giving away her rank

"Remember, call me Janice" Janice whispered, and Keitaro noticed that she no longer was dressed on the armor of the Blades, but in a heavy armor made of steel, covered with a cloth mantle, and without helmet, making her to look more beautiful with her auburn hair

"O-ok. And yeah, I'm ready to go. The sooner the better" Keitaro finally replied, glad to be taken away from the people that was making fun of him and his bad luck

"That's a nice ring you have there by the way. Now I don't have to worry about you drowning as long as you have it in your finger" Janice said while being followed to the door by Keitaro, who eyed her with suspicion

"Do you mean it's real?" Keitaro asked aloud, although already out of the inn

"The Jewel of Rumare is an enchanted ring made by the Emperor himself. It was awarded to the Fisher King on a contest held on his first year as the Emperor. Of course you should know this if you were from Cyrodil, which leads to the question, from where are you, Keitaro?" Janice asked, and Keitaro felt his stomach revolving

"You wouldn't believe it if I tell you" Keitaro decided for a vague approach, but it didn't shake away Janice's curiosity

"Try me" Janice replied, still walking west. The road was rural, plain patches of ground making the path, and a lot of grass to the sides, a bit of ruins could be seen here and there, but it was mostly only them walking. They walked for a few silent minutes, until Keitaro decided to answer

"Japan" Was Keitaro sole answer, a mere word, and still it sounded way too alien for the captain of the Blades

"Sorry, I'm not familiar with Bretonian names, is that the name of your hometown in High Rock?" Janice asked, trying not to sound dumb for her lack of knowledge on geography

"Yeah, that's right" Keitaro replied, nervous. He was obviously telling lies, but Janice felt that he wasn't ready to tell all the truth

They kept marching west on the road, until they reached a large set of ruins, from there, the way divided into two paths, north and south. Janice went north, and Keitaro followed, noticing some signs in a post, the three of them pointing north, Chorrol, Bruma and Cheyndinhal

"Keitaro, the Emperor trusted you, so do I. I will not press for answers, but, should you expect to be believed, I suggest you to better say that you don't remember anything before we met. Unless Japan is indeed the name of a town in High Rock" Janice said, and Keitaro's eyes went wide. Soon he felt warm inside again, this beautiful strong woman trusted him, even when she caught him telling lies

"Thank you, for trusting me. I promise that once I feel more secure of this, I'll tell you all the truth, for you deserve it" Keitaro said, blushing at the ideas forming on his head. Perhaps these new gods were good to him, showing him people that trusted him for his good nature… Or this was heaven already, maybe this time Naru actually killed him…

"Do not mistake me. Should you betray the trust of the Emperor, I'll kill you without hesitation" Janice tried to scare him a little, if only to remember him she is still a Blade, not that her smile was doing anything to tell Keitaro she was serious

"I'll commit Seppuku before doing such a thing" Keitaro replied in all seriousness, making Janice stop

"What is seppuku?" Janice asked, truly confused by the weird word, and Keitaro facefaulted, this adventure was going to be a little more complex than he thought, and he already thought it was going to be complex as hell!

* * *

Hinata-sou…

"What do you mean you will not make that machine again?" Motoko asked to an angry looking Su

"Because I don't want to. I will not make a tool to bring Keitaro back, not while there is still people that will make his life hell" Su replied, she had no doubts that Keitaro was still alive, but she was sure that whenever he was, he was better than here

"Who said anything about bringing him back?" Shinobu asked in a voice that sounded truly disturbing, almost insane. Su looked between the two of them, rising her eyebrows in realization

"Even if I can rebuild, and track him successfully, there is no guarantee of you crossing and live to be with him, he survived because we can't kill him, neither of you have his special quality" Su explained, trying to convince them

"That still beats living without him" Motoko finally replied, and even Su had to agree, not that this made it any less hard of a task, for it could take even years before finally tracking him

* * *

**Magnus:** One side quest down, and a lot more to go. I hope you liked it, remember that this story is going to progress somewhat slowly, mostly because Oblivion is a game to take your time to enjoy to it's maximum.


	4. Deceiving Looks

**Magnus: **I haven't abandoned this story, and proof of that is this chapter. Anyway, if you haven't noticed it, some twists have been added, and some more will take place, so the plot can be felt more properly, or at least according to the crossover, so enjoy! And remember, Read and Review!

**Disclaimer: **We don't own The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion or Love Hina, as well as anything you believe is being mentioned in this fanfic**  
**

* * *

**Chapter 4**

**Deceiving looks**

Keitaro and Janice kept walking a little bit more to the north, silently. Keitaro explained what seppuku was, thing that confused the Captain of the Blades, but made no comment over such thing. Everything kept pointing to this squishy guy being sent by the gods, the true question was, from where?

They kept walking along some ancient wall, ruins from another time, until they got to another crossroads, and then turned west, just in time to see an armored knight attending an injured traveler, the bodies of a pack of wolves surrounded them, speaking of what had happened. Janice had the chance to see once again how ready was Keitaro to help others, as he immediately went to the wounded.

"Are you alright? Do you require any assistance?" Keitaro asked, ready to put to practice his first aid skills

"That depends, are you a healer?" The knight asked, his eyes quickly studying both Keitaro and Janice

"Y-yes… although still in training" Keitaro replied nervously, and Janice couldn't help but to face palm

"That's better than nothing, please take a look at the wounds, see if you can treat them so another healer in the city can finish the job" The knight said, and then step aside allowing Keitaro to work

The injured person was young Breton girl, obviously her dragon skin had saved her life, fading away just when the Legion Soldier arrived. She watched curiously how Keitaro checked her injures, assessing each one of them separately, and not casting a spell immediately. She immediately understood that Keitaro was no trainee.

"Trainees don't assess wounds separately" The girl softly said

"If you don't tell, I'll highly appreciate it" Keitaro replied softly, and the young Breton nodded shyly

"What is he doing?" The knight asked aloud

"I'm not sure of it…" Janice replied automatically, and stiffened when she felt the Legion soldier glare on her

"Blade…" The Legion soldier growled, just in time to miss the light resulting on Keitaro applying his chi to heal the wounds of the girl

"It's done" Keitaro said, just in time to diffuse any confrontation

"Then we must continue" Janice said, and then began to walk away, quickly, and without looking back

"Something wrong?" Keitaro asked, worried by the Janice's face, for she looked troubled

"That man was a soldier of the Imperial Legion. There has been some bad blood between them and us for some time now… I was afraid that he may have stopped us to find why I'm dressed like this, distracting us even more from our task. That reminds me, try to restrain yourself from helping everyone in our path. I know you have the same sense of duty and drive of a healer, but we don't have time to lose" Janice said, still walking fast, with Keitaro closely behind

"Helping people is not lost time" Keitaro said a little upset, but immediately stiffened when Janice stopped dead on her tracks.

"I… I'm sorry. It wasn't my intention… It's just…" Janice tried to apologize, it was hard for her to do so, but she felt that she had to do it, after all, Keitaro had used the same words that the late Emperor once used to scold her and other Blades

"_Helping people is not losing time. Tamriel is not me, neither is the land, the castle or the riches. Tamriel is the people, from the youngest child to the oldest elder, from the poorest to the richest. Don't tell me to not spend my time helping all of them, for you are telling me to betray and abandon what I have sworn to serve and protect"_ Uriel's words resounded on Janice mind and heart, making her feel even worse.

"It's alright, I know you have a duty to follow, and that your loyalty guides you to a greater good. I'm the one who have to apologize, I'm unused to this land, and I already have sworn to carry on the last wish of your Emperor, and I will not fail" Keitaro suddenly said, placing a hand on Janice's shoulder

"Do not apologize… not after talking like… never mind, let's keep going. We shouldn't be in the wilderness during the night" Janice replied, albeit without any kind of strength. Keitaro decided to simply follow, not pressing her to answer or to explain

They kept walking along the path, going mostly west, with a few twists here and there. Keitaro liked the area, it was a nice forest, beautiful trees were filling the sides of the road, which was becoming a soft climb now, a mountain, if Keitaro had to guess. They walked silently for hours, the sunset was now warning them to find shelter, and as the path became plain again, Janice felt the need to stop Keitaro… who was now walking slightly ahead of her, with no signs of getting tired.

"Keitaro! We must take shelter for the night" Janice called Keitaro, who stopped and turned around to look at her

"But where?" Keitaro asked. He actually wanted to ask why, because he wasn't tired at all, and the idea of walking below the stars seemed quite nice to him… until he noticed that the Captain of the Blades was having troubles to breath slowly, she was tired, and by the looks of it, almost sick

"Fort Ash is just ahead, we'll spend the night there, and then we'll continue at dawn. Weynon Priory is not far from there" Janice explained, while still walking, to be ahead Keitaro again

"Are you alright? You seem to be…" Keitaro began to show his concern, still feeling that he should have done a better job with her injuries

"We have walked since late this morning, I've been walking with this heavy armor all the day, and we haven't had a stop for resting yet. I'm tired, it's a natural thing. You on the other hand, have the Jewel of Rumare, which boosts your athletic skill, and also you seem to have an unusually large magic core for a Breton, which is saying something. If you add that the fact that you are carrying leather armor… well, I'm sure you can keep walking for a few more hours" Janice explained, leaving out that she would have the same endurance if she weren't still hurt. Keitaro didn't reply, but purposed himself to check on Janice's health once they make camp, he just saw her like Motoko, too stubborn to admit being weakened.

Just a minute or two later, the ruins of Fort Ash became visible. A rather old structure, which seemed to have been a tower ages ago. They walked a little bit faster now, wishing to set camp before the sun finally hides away in the mountains, desiring to cook some of the rations, for their stomachs were now begging for some food… not noticing a rustle in the nearby bushes.

"I'm sorry for asking this, but… By chance, do you know how to cook?" Janice asked with a faint blush on her face, for that was one of the very few skills that for the life of it, she couldn't fathom it

"Don't worry, let the cooking to me" Keitaro replied with a wide smile, it was one of his best skills, and he so much wanted to cook for her, if only as a token of thanks for treating him like a human being deserves

"Ah! A pretty knight and her squire! I don't know what kind of business or mission you have, I only care about your gold. Hand it over and you'll be able to continue without losing anything else" A voice like a snarl startled them, making Janice to take out her sword. Keitaro for his part found himself shocked, as the robber was some kind of big cat like creature, that was walking like a human, he was dressed on furs from other animals, perhaps some kind of fur armor. In his shock, he forgot to take out his sword, or even take a defensive stance

"You won't get anything from us, you filthy rascal!" Janice answered… and then a sharp pain on her left shoulder paralyzed her

"Injured? Well, then I'll take something more than your gold. You may not be Khajiit, but your ugliness won't stop me from having fun with you" The Khajiit stated, and the edge on his voice made Keitaro aware of his true intentions, while the face of horror on Janice told him that it was time to be a man and pull off a miracle. Keitaro felt the rage building up, and decided to let it show, channeling it on his hands, aiming for a major show off, and not a true attack

"Leave her alone" Keitaro demanded, his hands placed in front of him with the palms up… his hands filled with rather large flames, illuminating the ruins, and scaring the crap out of the robber… quite literally.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" The Khajiit screamed while running away, he was skilled enough to assault peasants, and the occasional careless adventurer, mages were far out of his league. As soon as he was gone, the flames were put down, and Keitaro turned to look at the captain of the Blades, concern written in all his features

"Janice… Are you alright?" Keitaro asked, but Janice had her eyes wide open in shock. First, he couldn't cast a small fireball, then he used a massive one to incinerate a zombie… and now, he just seemed to be a master of fire, holding into it as if it existed to serve his mere whim

"Janice?" Keitaro asked again, this time he placed his hand on her injured shoulder, startling her, and bringing her back to the moment

"It hurts… a little… but I'll be fine" Janice replied, once again ashamed to own another life debt to Keitaro

"That's not good, let me check that injury" Keitaro asked. For a moment, Janice tried to think on a thousand excuses to not allowing being stripped from her armor, but none seemed to be good enough, so, she agreed, albeit reluctantly

It was with extreme care and delicacy that Keitaro helped her out of her chest plate, with respect and maturity that he waited until she took out her linen blouse, being now only on her bra. Keitaro stood behind her, checking the scar on her shoulder, and then he did the same that he did on the passage, he poured his chi into her wound, and checked what was wrong. For Janice it felt warm, cozy, something to welcome, but she was careful enough to not express it, she was afraid, truly afraid, that now her woman heart was being drawn to Keitaro. She wasn't afraid of getting hurt, but of hurting him, for he seemed to be of noble heart and sweet feelings, while she was a warrior, who would put duty before him… and he didn't deserve that.

After some minutes, Keitaro was able to find what the trouble was, the tip of the dagger that injured her was still inside her body, and while the poison was now neutralized, the piece of metal was still painful to have.

"I see, there is a fragment of the dagger deep into the wound, sorry, but I can't do anything else without the required tools… I can only ease the pain from the time begin" Keitaro apologized, placing a hand on her shoulder. He was about to turn around to allow her to dress, when her hand caught his

"Keitaro, I never took the chance to properly thank you for saving my life so many times…" Janice began, slowly turning around to look into Keitaro's eyes

"There is nothing to thank. I did what I had to do. If anything, I'm the one grateful, for you have been the one protecting me, and for trusting me…" Keitaro interjected, blushing, mostly for thinking that this was some sort of medieval story were the maiden would reward the hero with some passion… curse his hormones

"Still, I owe you my life, and I prefer to repay such debt with something that both will never forget…" Janice said with a soft voice, and this time Keitaro DID understand

"No. Not like this. Not just for this. As beautiful as you are… as much as I like you. Don't" Keitaro said, taking a few steps back

"Keitaro?" Janice asked, unable to decide if he was scared, or if he had taken chastity vows

"If your feelings are like this, and are true, then let's marry. I… I don't want just one night of passion, I want a life of love" Keitaro explained, and Janice couldn't help but to be completely astonished, and without words, for this was something she couldn't do, even if she desired it with all her heart… There was no need for words though. Keitaro immediately embraced her, not in a lustful way, but like a brother

"It's ok. Nothing happened. Let me cook dinner, and then we can call it night" Keitaro said, but suddenly he found that Janice was not only hugging him back, but wasn't letting him go

"If it could be, I'll marry you…You are a worthy man, just like the Emperor said" Janice stated, and then let him go. From her spot she watched him work, placing water in a pot, and the ingredients, with such care and professionalism, that he seemed to be brewing a potion. She silently imagined her life as his wife… all the laughs they would get… a house husband and his knight wife… perhaps it was better this way, not that she desired him any less.

Morning came, and the two travelers walked hastily to their destination. Both agreed that they already have lost enough time, both agreed that they needed to accomplish their mission before being able to look at each other eyes. Janice thought that she needed to see if there will be Blades after this, for the possibility of a heir was something to still look into, and Keitaro had to carry the guilt of have rejected a beautiful woman… and possibly made her angry at him.

After passing a poor looking farm, and climbing a small hill, they could see Weynon priory. Keitaro took his time to check the three buildings that formed the front of the place, surrounding a well, in the middle, a large looking building, medieval by the looks of it, made of stone and wooden beams, with a hard wood roof, arched windows adorned the view, and it looked very well taken care of, much more sturdy than the Hinata-sou, but not as big. To the left, a small and humble lodge was placed, either a warehouse, or the quarters for someone like a janitor, or something like that, for a moment, Keitaro thought that it would be cruel to treat someone like that, to exclude him or her from the main building… then again, he wouldn't have had that many troubles if he had a lodge separated from the inn, come to think of it, for the life of it, he couldn't believe he hadn't thought on something like this before. To the right, a rather tall building governed the view, it wasn't truly wide, but it was much better built than the other buildings, it was made of white stone, the main window in the front was being reinforced with some structure, the structure formed a circle surrounded by eight smaller circles, like some kind of symbol

"Beautiful…" Keitaro finally said

"Indeed. The Nine are always watching us, so we have chapels like those around all Cyrodil" Janice said, giving a little more of information about the local religion. After taking into the scenery, they walked inside the middle building, where they were greeted by a monk

"Yes? Can I help you? Renault!" The monk asked, but his eyes turned wide when he saw Janice

"Maborel, we need to speak with Jauffre, it's very important" Janice spoke, returning to her voice of authority

"Yes. Of course. He is upstairs, go ahead" Maborel replied, and allowed them to pass, although he eyed Keitaro with suspicion

"That is not a monk…" Keitaro muttered, and Janice grunted in reply, she obviously knew this people, and if she was at ease with them, then Keitaro will not do anything to jeopardize that. Up the stairs, the room became a large et humble office, with sturdy wooden tables and chairs, a large bookshelf with some books and a few vases and other items, and sitting at the desk, was a balding Caucasian man, reading some thick book. The man, hearing their hurried footsteps, acknowledged them.

"I am brother Jauffre. What do you… Renault?" Jauffre was surprised to see his old student in the priory, her presence obviously told him that the mission to keep the Emperor safe had failed

"Grandmaster, I'm afraid that your faith on me was misplaced, as I failed to protect the Emperor. As of now, Uriel Septim and all of his known heirs are dead. However, the Emperor entrusted this young man with the Amulet of Kings, and with his last words" Janice reported, standing tall and strong, but no longer like the Captain she was, but like a soldier that have failed, and was ready to take her punishment, whatever this was.

"I see… Step forward, young man. Please, tell me your name, and explain me what happened" Jauffre asked, and Keitaro did as told

"My name is Keitaro Urashima. I was present at the moment of your Majesty's death. He tasked me with bringing the Amulet to you, to tell you to find his last son… To defeat the prince of destruction, and to shut close the jaws of Oblivion" Keitaro spoke, invoking the words that Uriel used… but letting the bits about his life out of the conversation, he would ask for a way home AFTER dealing with the current crisis

"This… cannot be. Let me see it, let me see the Amulet of Kings" Jauffre almost demanded, and Keitaro quickly gave it to him… almost grateful for not having to carry it anymore

"By the Nine! This IS the Amulet of Kings!" Jauffre shouted in true surprise, and Janice eyebrow twitched ever so slightly, she wanted to yell at Jauffre for not believing Keitaro immediately… But she couldn't blame him, Keitaro was a stranger, Jauffre wasn't there to see his worth, so, she remained silent

"As unlikely as your story sounds, I believe you. Only the strange destiny of Uriel Septim could have brought you to me carrying the Amulet of Kings. Besides, Captain Renault wouldn't have escorted you if you weren't telling the truth" Jauffre continued, and Janice nodded in agreement.

"Excuse me, sir. What did the Emperor meant with closing shut the jaws of Oblivion?" Keitaro asked, he had to know, for he didn't believe it to be a mere place or the lack of place, neither he wanted to believe it was the hell.

"His meaning is unclear to me as well. The Emperor seemed to perceive some threat from the demonic world of Oblivion. The Prince of Destruction, Mehrunes Dagon, is one of the lords of Oblivion" Jauffre answered, although it only raised Keitaros suspicions of this being some kind of version of hell

"But the mortal world is protected from the daedra of Oblivion by magical barriers" Jauffre finished, and by daedra, Keitaro immediately figured that such was the name this world had for demons

"Then, how can Oblivion threaten us?" Janice asked, confused as well. Jauffre seemed to think a little about this, he frowned after some thought, but seemed to refrain from saying everything

"I'm not sure. Only the Emperor truly understand the meaning behind the rituals of coronation. The Amulet of Kings is ancient. Saint Alessia herself received it from the gods. It is a holy relic of great power. When an Emperor is crowned, he uses the Amulet to light the Dragonfires at the Temple of the One in the Imperial City. With the Emperor dead, and no new heir crowned, the Dragonfires will be dark, for the first time in centuries" Jauffre explained, and while Janice had a frown on her face, for linking the events, Keitaro had a face of full understanding, he had been carrying the key to prevent this world from being invaded by the forces of hell…

"It may be that the Dragonfires protected this world from the threat that only the Emperor was able to see…" Keitaro added, and Jauffre began to see what the Emperor saw on this young man, he was smart, and of a good heart.

"What about the other heir? The one the Emperor spoke of to Keitaro?" Janice asked, with hope shining on her eyes, hope of still having someone to carry her duty

"I'm one of the few who know of his existence. Many years ago, I served as Captain of Uriel's bodyguards, the Blades. One night Uriel called me to his private chambers. A baby boy lay sleeping in a basket. Uriel told me to deliver him somewhere safe. He never told me anything else about the baby, but I knew he was his son. From time to time he would ask about the child's progress. Now it seems that this illegitimate son is the heir to the Septim throne. If he yet lives" Jauffre explained, and both Keitaro and Janice knew what to do

"Where can we find Uriel's son?" Both asked at the same time, surprising Jauffre with their outburst of eagerness

"His name is Martin. He serves Akatosh in the chapel in the city of Kavatch, south of here. However, as much as this is an emergency, I won't let you depart unprepared. Young man, I want you to take this money, and go to the city of Chorrol, purchase some equipment that properly fits you, and maybe a weapon that goes by your trade, as I seriously doubt you are a warrior" Jauffre stated while giving a pouch with coins to Keitaro, who looked down in shame

"I am a healer, sir" Keitaro shyly replied, although Jauffre quickly caught that such was not true, but made no mention of it

"Then make sure to get all the required gear for your trade, as your skill will come in handy without doubt. I want you to go alone, as the Captain Renault and I have a lot to discuss. Remember to not take long, you must depart tonight, so the shadows can hide you from the eyes of our enemies" Jauffre finished, and then Keitaro took his leave, he silently hoped that Janice won't be punished harshly, for she did her best in the situation they were into. After he was gone, Jauffre decided it was a good time to interrogate the current Captain, the face of goodness and grandfatherly understanding was now gone, replaced by seriousness and professionalism.

"Now that the young hero wannabe is gone, I want you to tell me the whole story. Do not miss any detail, any conversation. I need to know if you are still reliable to handle the Septim's security. Remember, you have failed once, I won't allow you to fail again" Jauffre asked, in a tone that would have made generals squirm under his gaze, however, Janice held her ground, and then explained everything, without missing anything at all, not even her thoughts about Keitaro's possible precedence…

Outside…

"Is the information reliable?" A red cloaked man asked to an aged Dark Elf

"Of course it is! Now give me the gold, I'll need it to start all over again in Morrowind" The Dark Elf demanded, some time ago he placed a crude device to overhear whatever Jauffre spoke with other Blades at his office, thinking on selling the information to make easy money, and it seemed to be working very well

"Very well, up to now it had been reliable, allowing us to have an easy time tracking down the royal pigs. Take your money, but remember, if this is fake, we'll use your heart and soul for our next ritual" he cloaked man warned him while Eronor began to count the money, with all the information about the Septims sold, he had amassed a small fortune, now he only had to wait two or three days for Jauffre to give him money for the groceries at Chorrol, and then he'll flee to Morrowind, where he would laugh at Cyrodil's downfall

"Eronor! Are you still busy? I need a little help to remove some tapestries from the altar… Wow! That's quite a lot of money!" Prior Maborel said as he approached the Dark Elf

"Oh? Ah! I was just making sure to have enough saved for my trip, I'm planning to visit Vvanderfall next month, to pay respects to my father's grave" Eronor explained, making sure to not to try to hide the pouch, so he doesn't seems suspicious

"A noble cause, just remember to speak to Jauffre first, he doesn't like surprises" Maborel added

"I know. Now, what where you saying about the tapestries? I hope you don't want me to clean them as well, taking care of the animals is enough dirty for me already!" Eronor continued, making sure to keep his grumpy attitude, so nothing seemed to have changed

* * *

Hinata-sou…

The inn was not a happy place, Kitsune hadn't had a droplet of liquor, Su hasn't been seen jumping around the place, Motoko was not training on the roof, and Shinobu had yet to make an edible dish, and Haruka, Mutsumi and Sara were evading the building as if it was haunted… All since Keitaro was gone. But as someone said once, if things can go worse, they will go worse…

"Hello?" Naru answered the phone, actually, she was a rather funny sight to behold. The once fierce and violent Narusegawa was now dressed on an apron, like some kind of maid, even a duster at her hand. With Kitsune now sober and working like a madwoman to deal with the loss of her plaything, and with Motoko doing all the repairs to 'honor' the memory of her beloved one, she was tasked to keep the place clean and doing all the other chores, should she want to stay, that's it

"W-What? N-No! Is not that! I mean… Alright, I'll tell that to the others" Naru replied, and the hung the phone, giving a long sigh of dread

"One week… Keitaro, if by chance you can hear me, please return within one week. Your sister is coming, and I doubt she'll take hostages… Oh Kami! Please help me!" Naru shouted to the heavens, she had had enough, she had shown remorse and willingness to atone. But the heavens seemed to be merciless these days, and only a miracle would prevent her from having a gruesome death by the hand of the most frightening psycho of the world

* * *

**Magnus:** Well, I hope you liked it, the next chapter will have a lot of action, for it'll be Keitaro's first Oblivion Gate, also with a twist, but you'll have to wait to see what it'll be, see ya until then!


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